


❮ trapped ❯

by wandering_wildflower



Category: H2O: Just Add Water
Genre: Angst, F/F, rikma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21590989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wandering_wildflower/pseuds/wandering_wildflower
Summary: [szn 3 ep 12 w/ a re-imagined ending. enjoy!]
Relationships: Rikki Chadwick/Emma Gilbert
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	❮ trapped ❯

**Author's Note:**

> [szn 3 ep 12 w/ a re-imagined ending. enjoy!]

Rikki didn't know how much time had passed since they had left her locked in the room. The boarded windows blocked out any light, and she was certain the door was locked, although her hands were tied too tightly to check. The only indication of the time was the chill slowly seeping into the room. She shuddered, sliding down against the wall, and rested her head on her knees.

The rickety old boat swaying in the water was nauseating, and clouded her thoughts. Why had she come here in the first place?

"the money." she said, exasperated. Her voice was slightly muffled from the piece of cloth gagging her.

the stupid counterfeit money.

Zane had completely forgotten her birthday, and the way Sophie looked at him drove her insane. She wanted nothing more than an excuse to leave, and she took up the first offer on it. She knew she should've ran the moment she saw the boat. But the cafe needed all the money they could get, and she was really not in the mood to deal with Sophie, or Zane. Getting held hostage for discovering someone's counterfeit money scheme is something that only happens in, well, movies. Then again, movies are based off real life.

Zane wasn't the only one who had forgotten her birthday, and that fact was nagging away at her.

_buzz buzz_

Rikki mentally facepalmed. She forgot she even had her phone with her. Fast-paced footsteps echoed through the hall, nearing the back room Rikki was locked in. Her heartbeat quickened as she frantically tried to turn her phone off. The door was flung open, by the man who had tied her up. Presumably the guy who had paid with the counterfeit's father.

"Trying to call someone? Don't even think about it Sweetheart." he snatched her phone out of her back pocket, and she squirmed away as he smirked.

"mfmfhfh" Rikki mouthed, angrily.

"What was that Sweetheart?" he ripped the gag off, clearly enjoying her distress.

"Don't call me sweetheart." she spat at him, a tiny smile appearing on her face at this small victory.

then he slapped her.

_hard_

her head spun, reeling from the impact. 

"Don't tell me what to do, bitch." he growled, his eyes gleaming with contempt. He inched closer, and Rikki started to panic. She shut her eyes, trying her hardest to block out the foulmouthed insults being hurled at her. _God, I wish you were here Emma._ But who was she kidding? Emma probably hadn't thought of her once since she left.She winced at the thought. If anything, forgetting her stupid birthday proved it. 

She felt his hand trailing up her arm, and she bit her tongue until she tasted blood, but it abruptly stopped when a shout sounded through the boat.

"Ah shit." he muttered hastily retying the gag, so tight Rikki could barely breathe.

Two voices could be heard now, both distinctly male. Rikki strained her ears, were those police sirens in the distance? The yelling was growing louder, and she realized it was Will. She was glad he cared enough to come, but she felt her heart deflate when she realized it wasn't Zane. Says he'll always be there for her, and when she's been kidnapped he's nowhere to be found. Typical.

Suddenly shouts erupted from the front room, and metallic clangs rang out in the air. She prayed Will was winning the fight, but it was impossible to tell. Then,

silence.

_Oh god, did they kill him?_

Then she smelt the smoke.

that's when she really lost it.

_you'll die without ever seeing any of your friends again. you won't be remembered._

intrusive thoughts fluttered through her mind, the black smoke getting thicker by the second. She desperately clawed at the zip tie binding her hands which, in her frustration, she managed to melt. _is this what it feels like to go insane,_ she thought, while flinging herself against the walls, the door, even the boarded windows, but to no avail. 

_you left no impact. changed no lives. they will all forget you._

she slumped down onto the floor in front of the door in a haze, smoke filling her lungs, the crackle of flames getting ever nearer.

too weak to remove the gag, she sunk into her mind. she wanted to scream 'hey!! over here!!' and have some miraculous rescue, but she knew it was hopeless. and she didn't blame her friends for not getting her. after all, they didn't even know for a fact she was in there.

_if you were really special, important, useful in the slightest, you'd be able to stop the fire. I mean you have powers for god s-_

_thwack_

her thoughts were cut off by a slamming at the door. she stared at it in confusion, who would be trying to break into a burning boat?

_thwack_

_it's them coming back for their money,_ a voice in her head whispered. she could feel the man touching her arm again.

she shuddered, and tried to pull herself up, but collapsed into a coughing fit.

_thwack_

the door fell with a satisfying thud

someone hoisted themselves inside the doorframe, grunting, and a hand appeared through the smoke.

"Rikki! Come on, we're going home." the voice shouted

"Em?" she had to be hallucinating. The trauma of the day combined with a lack of oxygen was causing her to create an illusion of something comforting. She had read about it in an article somewhere.

"Yes but Rikki, listen to me, this boat is going to go under. Take my hand."

she weakly took her hand, and was swiftly pulled out of the boat, into the safety of the water. 

Rikki's head spun as she looked up at the dark smoke billowing in the sky. She looked over to Emma, who was holding her bridal style.

"And they say romance is dead."

the blonde managed a weak smile, and held her tighter, gliding away from the boat. 

Rikki wrapped her arms around her, returning the tight embrace. "I thought you forgot about me," she sputtered.

"Me? Forget about you? Impossible. Though I was certainly not expecting to come back to this. Same old Rikki, still getting into trouble."

"Believe it or not, it wasn't actually my fault this time."

"Mhmm," she smiled incredulously. 

it was amazing the things that smile could do to her. her knees felt weak and she didn't even _have_ knees right then. 

Emma glanced down at the girl in her arms, then slowed her pace. She pressed her hand to Rikki's aching face, "oh, baby." she murmured.

Rikki blushed and shut her eyes, floating on her back.

"what did they do to you," she asked, softly holding a chunk of ice to the side of Rikki's bruised face.

she bit her lip. she looked into Emma's eyes and knew she could trust her.

"he slapped me." she blurted. "and gagged me, tied me up, called me some insulting things, nothing I've never heard before, and-" she hesitated, thinking back on the moment.

"and?" Emma gently pushed on.

"and he.. touched me." she winced. She could practically feel the rage radiating from Emma. If she wasn't caring for Rikki right now, she was half sure she'd be on a hunt for them.

"j-just my arm," Rikki stammered when the blonde didn't respond, "but it was not.. my best moment."

Emma sighed and let the ice float away into the water. 

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. and I'm sorry we didn't get there sooner. Birthday preparations and all that."

"Same old Emma," the girls shared a smile. "Do I even want to ask where Zane is?" Rikki chuckled half-heartedly.

A frown flashed across Emma's face, but she regained her composure in a split second.

"He's at the cafe. We didn't tell him. I'm sure he would've been here if we had."

"Oh." she didn't really know what she was expecting, Zane could be unpredictable at times.

"we had a whole party planned. I'm sorry that didn't exactly go well."

"It's okay, I'd rather be here with you."

Emma smiled and looked down into the water. Rikki returned the smile, her heart hammering.

"Let's go home."

"Will you carry me? Im too weak to go on." Rikki placed her hand on her hand and pretended to faint, though she was only half joking.

Emma giggled and picked her up again.

As dysfunctional and as messy as the day had been, Rikki couldn't have asked for a better present than Emma coming home. She rested her head on Emma's chest as they drifted through the cold water, and smiled. She was home.


End file.
